Plus500 Secures Seychelles Licence, Closes 2019 on Strong Footing

Plus500 has published its preliminary unaudited results for its full-year ended on December 31, 2019, this Wednesday, along with an announcement that the Group has recently secured a license from the Financial Services Authority in Seychelles.

Following the end of the year, Plus500 was issued a new securities dealer licence by the Financial Services Authority in the Seychelles. This adds to the Group's seven existing regulatory licenses, with the company now regulated in the United Kingdom, Australia, Cyprus, Israel, New Zealand, South Africa, Singapore, and now Seychelles.

2019: the difference between H1 and H2

The online contracts for difference (CFD) trading provider outlined in its statement that 2019 delivered two distinct halves for the broker, with the first half being impacted by low Volatility Volatility In finance, volatility refers to the amount of change in the rate of a financial instrument, such as commodities, currencies, stocks, over a given time period. Essentially, volatility describes the nature of an instrument’s fluctuation; a highly volatile security equates to large fluctuations in price, and a low volatile security equates to timid fluctuations in price. Volatility is an important statistical indicator used by financial traders to assist them in developing trading systems. Traders In finance, volatility refers to the amount of change in the rate of a financial instrument, such as commodities, currencies, stocks, over a given time period. Essentially, volatility describes the nature of an instrument’s fluctuation; a highly volatile security equates to large fluctuations in price, and a low volatile security equates to timid fluctuations in price. Volatility is an important statistical indicator used by financial traders to assist them in developing trading systems. Traders Read this Term and the second half delivering significantly better performance.

For the second half of 2019, revenues increased by 40 percent to reach $206.5 million, up from $148.0 million in H1 of 2019. However, revenues for the full year were lower by 51 percent year-on-year, falling to $354.5 million, from $720.4 million in the 2018 financial year.

Net profit in the second half of 2019 increased dramatically, climbing from $51.6 million in the first half of the year to $100.1 million in H2, representing an increase of 94 percent.

However, as was the same with revenues, when comparing net profit for the whole year, which was $151.7 million in 2019, it has declined by 60 percent year-on-year from 2018.

When looking at Plus500's result, it is important to keep in mind that 2019 marked the first full year of trading under ESMA ESMA European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) is an independent Authority of the European Union that is responsible for the safety, security, and stability of the European Unions’ financial system and is charged with protecting the public. The European supervisory authority for the securities sector, ESMA was established on 1 January 2011. The European Securities and Markets Authority is an independent EU authority based in Paris. It aims to contribute to the effectiveness and stability of t European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) is an independent Authority of the European Union that is responsible for the safety, security, and stability of the European Unions’ financial system and is charged with protecting the public. The European supervisory authority for the securities sector, ESMA was established on 1 January 2011. The European Securities and Markets Authority is an independent EU authority based in Paris. It aims to contribute to the effectiveness and stability of t Read this Term's product intervention measures. Therefore, the recovery in the second half of the year gives hope for a more solid performance in 2020 as traders ad brokers continue to adjust to the regulations.

Plus500 operational highlights

In its financial report, the broker has outlined a number of operational highlights for the year. Namely, the company achieved an average of around 3 million customer trades per month in 2019.

In addition, the average deposit per active customer increased by 19 per cent on a yearly comparison, coming in at $5,116, up from $4,284 in the 2018 financial year.

Group remains confident in 2020 performance

Commenting on the results, Asaf Elimelech, Chief Executive Officer of Plus500, said in the statement: "We finished 2019 in good financial and operational shape following a period of changes for the industry, which has provided a more certain regulatory outlook for Plus500 and the industry as a whole."

"We were particularly pleased with the strong improvement in financial performance in the second half of 2019 and believe that customer trading patterns have now adjusted following the regulatory changes introduced in Europe last year. We continue to monitor and prepare for any potential product intervention measures that are expected to take place in Australia during 2020."

"I am also encouraged by the trading momentum we have shown through the year end, reflecting continued optimisation of our marketing spend, enhancements to our customer service, improvements in our proprietary technology platform and additional cost optimisation…"

"Looking forward to 2020 we are confident of the prospects for the Group as we focus on further strengthening our customer offering and market positions, thereby delivering growth and further strong shareholder returns."